Nobility: Ranks and Definitions | Highland Titles (2023)

Written by: Caitlin
Published: 5th September 2021, last updated: 3rd October 2022

The definition of nobility is ‘a social class found in some societies which have a formal aristocracy’, and it’s normally ranked immediately below royalty. It’s different from royalty, but it can be confusing as royalty – especially the extended royal family – are often also members of the aristocracy, and have noble titles.

Royalty includes the ruling monarch and their immediate family, while the nobility is much wider. British nobility ranks include dukes, earls and counts. Let’s take a look at what the nobility is in more detail, including a breakdown of British nobility ranks.

Who is part of the nobility?

Membership to the nobility is normally hereditary, whereby it has been granted upon the family by a monarch or government. The ascent of commoners into nobility is not a common thing but has historically happened due to an acquisition of sufficient power, wealth, military prowess, or royal favour.

Any privileges associated with being a part of the nobility varies from country to country, and have changed from era to era, sometimes they are substantial over those that are non-noble, but sometimes they are largely just honorary.

The termpeeragecan be used both collectively to refer to the entire body of nobles, as well as individually to refer to a specific noble title. Peerage in the United Kingdomis a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetimetitles, composed of variousnobleranks, and forming a constituent part of theBritish honours system.

All modern British honours, including peerage dignities, are created directly by theCrownand take effect whenletters patentare issued, affixed with theGreat Seal of the Realm. The Sovereign is considered to be thefount of honourand, as “the fountain and source of all dignities cannot hold a dignity from himself”, cannot hold a British peerage.

Titles of Nobility

Throughout the centuries the British peerage has evolved into the 5 ranks that exist today. These are Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. It can be tricky to know which has the superior ranking as well as how you should formally address persons with one of these titles, so we’ve tried to summarise for you as simply as possible.

Duke

The highest and most important nobility rank in all four peerages of the British Isles is Duke, the name of which comes from the Latindux, meaning leader. The female equivalent is Duchess, a title bestowed on a woman who holds the title in her own right, as well as one who is the wife of a Duke. If the woman is the title holder, her husband would not receive any title.

In total there have been less than 300 dukes since its inception in the 14th century. The correct way to formally address a duke or duchess is ‘Your Grace’. The eldest son of a duke will use one of the duke’s subsidiary titles, whilst other children will use the honorary title ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’ in front of their Christian names.

In 1337 Edward III created the first duke when he made his eldest son Duke of Cornwall, a title held today by the heir to the throne, Prince William.

Currently there are 24 non-royal dukedoms in the British peerage, and 7 royal dukedoms, which is a duke who is a member of the British royal family, entitled to the style of “His Royal Highness”. The current royal dukedoms are:

• Duke of Sussex, held by Prince Harry
• Duke of York, held by Prince Andrew
• Duke of Gloucester, held by Prince Richard
• Duke of Kent, held by Prince Edward
• Duke of Cornwall, held by Prince William
• Duke of Rothesay, held by Prince William
• Duke of Cambridge, held by Prince William

You can find a complete list of all the dukedoms in the United Kingdom here.

Marquess

The next title of nobility in order of precedence is Marquess, which comes from the Frenchmarquis, meaning march. This is a reference to the Marches (borders) between Wales, England and Scotland. An English or British marquess is formallystyled“TheMost HonourableThe Marquess of [X]”, and less formally styled as as ‘Lord So-and-So’. The wife of a marquess is a marchioness (known as ‘Lady So-and-So’), and the children’s titles are the same as those of a duke’s children.

The first marquess in the British Isles was created in 1385, which was a relatively late introduction to the British peerage. There are currently 34 marquessates.

The theoretical distinction between a marquess and other titles has, since theMiddle Ages, faded into obscurity. In times past, the distinction between acountand a marquess was that the land of a marquess, called amarch, was on the border of the country, while a count’s land, called acounty, often was not. As a result of this, a marquess was trusted to defend and fortify against potentially hostile neighbours and was thus more important and ranked higher than a count.

The only woman to have been created a marchioness in her own right was Anne Boleyn, who was created Marchioness of Pembroke just before her marriage toHenry VIII.

Picture above: Anne Boleyn

You can find a list of the 34 present marquesses in the peerages of Britain and Ireland here.

Earl

Next in order of precedence for titles of nobility is Earl, which comes from the Old English or Anglo-Saxoneorl, which means military leader, or man of noble birth or rank. The correct form of address is ‘Lord So-and-So’. A feminine form of Earl has never developed, therefore the wife of an earl is know as countess and the eldest son will use one of the earl’s subsidiary titles. All other sons are ‘Honourable’. Daughters take the honorary title ‘Lady’ in front of their Christian name.

Earls originally functioned essentially as royal governors, in charge of collecting taxes and with authority over their own regions or shires, often grouped together into earldoms. After theNorman Conquestof 1066,William the Conquerormodified the traditional system to his own liking and earldoms disappeared. The power and regional jurisdiction of Earls was limited to that of the Normancounts. Earls no longer aided in tax collection or made decisions in country courts, and their numbers were small.

The English kings had found it dangerous to give additional power to an already powerfularistocracy, so graduallysheriffsassumed the governing role. By the 13th century earls had a social rank just below the king and princes, but were not necessarily more powerful or wealthier than other noblemen. The only way to become an earl was to inherit the title or to marry into one. The connection between an earl and a shire disappeared, so that in the present day a number of earldoms take their names from towns, mountains, or simply surnames

Viscount

What is a viscount? A viscount is the fourth rank in the British peerage system, standing directly below an earl and above a baron. There are approximately 111 viscountcies currently extant in the peerages of the British Isles, though most are secondary titles. The word Viscount comes from the Latinvicecomes, and the wife of a viscount is a viscountess. A viscount or viscountess is addressed as ‘Lord So-and-So’ or ‘Lady So-and-So’. Again, the eldest son will use one of the viscount’s subsidiary titles (if any) whilst all other children are ‘Honorables’.

As a rank inBritish peerage, it was first recorded in 1440, whenJohn Beaumontwas created Viscount Beaumont by KingHenry VI. The wordviscountcorresponds in the UK to theAnglo-Saxon shire reeve(root of the non-nobiliary, royal-appointed office ofsheriff). Thus early viscounts were originally normally given their titles by the monarch, not hereditarily; but soon they too tended to establish hereditary principalities in the wider sense.

Baron

The term Baroncomes from the Old Germanicbaro, meaning ‘freeman’. The rank was created in 1066. In the Peerage of Scotland alone, a holder of the fifth rank is not called a ‘Baron’ but rather a ‘Lord of Parliament’.Barons in Scotlandwere traditionally holders of feudal dignities, not peers, but they are considered minor barons and are recognised by the crown as noble.

The title of Baron is the only possible rank of alifepeerage, a life peerage being a considerably lesser honour than a hereditary peerage. This concept was introduced in Britain in the 20th century. Life peersare appointed members of thepeeragewhose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to the traditional hereditary peers. Always referred to and addressed as ‘Lord’; Baron is rarely used. The wife of a baron is a baroness and all children are ‘Honorables’.

After theNorman Conquestin 1066, the term of nobility “baron” was introduced, although initially not as a title or rank, but the “barons of the King” were the men of the king. They were bound to perform a stipulated annual military service, and obliged to attend his council. Later on, the king started to create new baronies via awrit of summons, whichdirected his chosen man to attendParliament. This meant that baronies no longer related directly to land-holding, and thus no more feudal baronies needed to be created.

Landed Gentry

Members of the gentry are those descendants in the male line of peers as well as the children of women who are peeresses in their own right. This also includes baronets,knights,damesand certain other persons who bear no peerage titles. They are deemed members of the non-peerage nobility below whom they rank. The largest portion of the British aristocracy has historically been thelanded gentry, made up ofbaronetsand the non-titledlandowners whose families hailed from the medieval feudal class. most commonly now simply referred to as gentlemen.

FAQs

Can you buy a title of nobility?

The technically correct answer would be no, but the well publicised ‘cash for honours’ scandal might suggest otherwise.

Hereditary titles and “titles of nobility” are either inherited or bestowed upon an individual by the monarch and come with legal privileges that money can’t unfortunately just can’t buy.

Can you buy a lordship?

Yes, but these are extremely rare and you should only ever consider spending thousands of pounds after consulting a solicitor.

Alternatively, you could purchase a plot of land from Highland Titles and adopt your chosen courtesy title.

A Lord (Laird) is a member of the gentry in Scotland and ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire. The designation of Laird is based on an inheritable property that has an explicit tie to the physical land. The title cannot be bought and sold without selling the physical land. The title also does not entitle the owner to sit in the House of Lords and is the Scottish equivalent to an English squire in that it is not a noble title, more a courtesy title meaning landowner with no other rights assigned to it.

As above, it is important to emphasise that this is a courtesy title. You will not be a lord or lady in the hereditary sense but you can legally change your name and we provide the certificate and the deed. We cannot sell you a title, but we are simply acknowledging your right to use the title of Laird, Lord or Lady of Glencoe, which istrademarked by Highland Titles. Find out more HERE.

What is the daughter of a lord called?

It would depend on the rank of nobility of the lord. The children of a knight, baron, or viscount have no titles at all other than Master and Mistress, but all of an earl’s daughters are styledlady, as are the daughters of a duke or marquess.

What is the wife of an Earl called?

A wife of an Earl is styled Countess.

What is the daughter of a Duke called?

The daughters of a duke, marquess or earl have the courtesy title of “Lady” before their forename and surname.

Is a noble higher than a Lord?

Being a noble is not separate to being a Lord. Lord is used as a generic term to denotemembers of the peerage. Dukes and duchesses are addressed with their actual title, but all other ranks of nobility have the appellation Lord or Lady.

What was the role of the nobility in medieval times?

The nobles’ place in society was essentially to function asmiddle-men between the peasants and the royal family. Nobles provided work, land, and protection to the peasants while providing funding, supplies, and military service to the king.

What are the ranks of British nobility?

The five ranks that exist today, in descending order, are Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron.

How do nobles address each other?

Someone with a noble status would still be expecting to use the correct address when speaking to a noble of higher ranking than themselves. However if you are a noble of equal or higher status, then you reserve the right to address nobles of equal or lesser ranks as “My Lord/Lady”.

About the author

Written by: Caitlin

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